[fjdude]

Ok so have had my 328i (e92)for about 3 weeks now and i hadn't driven a manuall transmission for 8+ years.

Anyway, i'm fine with driving stick however a lot of ppl have been telling me that i'm not driving the car properly (in terms of at what point i shift).

1) I tend to shift at b/w 2000-2500rpm but my friend tells me i need to shift b/w 3000-4000rpm.

2) In a 50/60 km/hr zone i shift very quickly till i'm in 5th gear and then drive while the guage is just below 2000rpm.

couple of questions:
1) is there anything wrong with what i'm doing? I understand that the car will burn more fuel i'm in 5th gear going around 60km/hr but i don't feel any lag or any kind of tugging so i don't feel the need to downshift and didn't think i would be burning any more fuel

2) what is the most fuel efficient way to drive this car? Or should i be agressive (i use this term loosely) when shifting and shift at high rpms only and not get to 4th 5th gear so quickly?

Any advice would be great. Thanks.

[JLausch]

Don't see a problem with shifting at a low rpm as long as you don't bog the motor down. I used to shift at 2 to 2500 when just toolin' around town. Every vehicles a little different but i would say around 2 g's or higher is safe, like i said though, basically as long as your not bogging it down (ie having to lean into it hard just go accelerate normally)

[choatie88]

Generally lower rpms = more efficient, unless you're bogging the motor. Why not use the instant fuel efficiency display to figure out the most efficient way to drive?

[BK]

The nice thing about MT is you can drive the way you like. Do what you want.

Since you asked for opinions, though -- IMO, you are shifting too early. Your car has 7000 usable RPMs. Please use at least 4000 of them. At 50 kph (that's 31 mph for us in the States), you should be in 2nd, shifting to 3rd. Not in 5th.

FWIW, when I take it easy, I find it smoothest to shift around 3500 RPM and to cruise around 2K-3K RPM. Every now and then, I'll let it sing up to 6500 RPMs or so. Unfortunately, you can only really do that in 2nd gear in the U.S.

Try this: the next time you are in 2nd and the car is fully warmed up -- say you are on at a highway on ramp or something -- floor it, and take the RPMs up near redline before you shift to 3rd. That's the sound from the straight six that we all rave about.

[MrWorf]

1) No, as long as you don't feel that the engine is struggling to pull the car, feel free to use as high gear as you wish. I often cruise in fifth at 50-60km/h around town in my current (soon to be replaced) S60T5.

2) Ain't touching that with a 10 foot pole. There are many opinions and different engines. Essentially you should be able to use the fuel consumption gauge to see which is more efficient. (Doh! I did touch it .. run away! )

[flyga3]

You drive the way you want to drive.
Agreed: as long as you are not bogging down the motor, you're good.
Keep the RPMs lower for efficiency, or get them up there for pull.

Is all opinion and driving styles.

[bronco]

personally I think that you are shifting a bit too early. You may be bogging the engine

[Ado]

if you want PM me and I'll personally show you how I drive my 335.

Ado

[STE92VE]

OK, I'll play too.

There are too ways to drive a car whether you have a MT or AT.

1- Passively...easy on the gas during take offs and gradual acceleration.

2- Aggressively....pedal to the metal and drive it like you stole it.

Whatever your driving style is, you know you're driving your MT correctly if your passengers head isn't bobbing around like those give-away dolls at the ballpark.
To achieve this with a MT, you need to practice your rev matching technique.

Don't listen to your friend...opinions are like nipples, everyone has 2.

[ukthunderace]

Bogging the motor is worse for the engine than running at a higher rpm, and both are bad for fuel efficiency. 50kph is probably a little slow to be in 5th gear...I would drive in a slightly higher rpm...usually around 3K.

[bmw0perat0r]

Originally Posted by fjdude

Ok so have had my 328i (e92)for about 3 weeks now and i hadn't driven a manuall transmission for 8+ years.

Anyway, i'm fine with driving stick however a lot of ppl have been telling me that i'm not driving the car properly (in terms of at what point i shift).

1) I tend to shift at b/w 2000-2500rpm but my friend tells me i need to shift b/w 3000-4000rpm.

2) In a 50/60 km/hr zone i shift very quickly till i'm in 5th gear and then drive while the guage is just below 2000rpm.

couple of questions:
1) is there anything wrong with what i'm doing? I understand that the car will burn more fuel i'm in 5th gear going around 60km/hr but i don't feel any lag or any kind of tugging so i don't feel the need to downshift and didn't think i would be burning any more fuel

2) what is the most fuel efficient way to drive this car? Or should i be agressive (i use this term loosely) when shifting and shift at high rpms only and not get to 4th 5th gear so quickly?

Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Sounds like you're doing just fine.

In the e36 m3 I had - I always shifted at 3,000rpm ...habit. In every gear...whatever speed it was, once I hit 3k I would shift up until 5th gear. *obviously

2-2.5k is just fine too. That is about what my 335xi does (steptronic) in drive mode.

You could start skipping gears. For example in the corvette there is a function which under certain acceleration conditions (which the computer recognizes - after starting in 1st gear) will block out 2nd gear and guide the shifter into 4th. From 1st to 4th....talk about an odd feeling when shifting. It was to save on fuel.

In your car I might not shift from 1st to 4th, maybe 1st to 3rd to 5th. Nothing wrong with that...if you're cruising its just fine, might help save on a little gas...how much? might not even be able to tell...

BMW = gas guzzler anyway to hack it...usually.

Great cars though

[danimal]

If I'm driving for fuel efficiency, I shift as early as I can without bogging the motor. The 328 is fairly torquey, so I don't really notice it bogging unless I'm under maybe 1700 rpm or so (unless I'm going uphill). I also cruise in as high a gear as I can without bogging, unless I anticipate a need to accelerate, then I downshift.

-Dan

[choatie88]

I take issue with the gas guzzler comment - what other engine do you know that generates 300+ whp & 350 lb/ft of torque, yet gets 30mpg with gentle driving?

As far as I'm concerned BMW has best in its class fuel efficiency.

Also, it's hard to keep passengers' heads from bobbing on the 335 - there's so much power when accelerating that letting off the gas causes everyone to shift forward.